A contingent of downtown promoters encouraged the Muskegon Community College Board of Trustees to establish a college presence in downtown Muskegon.Ken Stevens | MLive

MUSKEGON, MI – Muskegon Community College should develop a presence in downtown Muskegon for the benefit of the college, community and students, the Board of Trustees heard Wednesday.

Business and community leaders pressured the board to look at a downtown site as it contemplates taking another millage request to voters. The college has been contemplating a new fine arts building and improvements to its science facilities.

“We need your partnership,” said Chris McGuigan, president of the Community Foundation for Muskegon County. “We need the vibrancy that you bring. We need the intellectual and creative vibrancy that you bring. We ask you to take it on – the responsibility to help make this the Muskegon we all wish for.”

The college board is considering returning to voters with a bond request, possibly as early as August, after a $31.1 million bond proposal was narrowly defeated at the polls last November. Focus groups of faculty, students and community members have been studying why the last proposal was defeated and how to restructure it to make it more palatable to voters.

Driesenga said people seeking employment and training help at Terrace Plaza could benefit from college programs offered in the same building.

“I cannot encourage you enough to be downtown,” Driesenga said.

He spent 20 years working in downtown Grand Rapids, which he said “really began to take off” when Grand Valley State University, Ferris State University and other colleges expanded there.

Jon Rooks, whose Parkland Development Co. has taken a lead in developing downtown Muskegon, also used downtown Grand Rapids as an example of how the presence of college students and faculty can spur revitalization. He said it’s good for students, because they enjoy the activity a downtown offers, and for the colleges that benefit from broader exposure.

College board Trustee Nancy Frye, the only board member to address the downtown promoters, said the board was concerned about transportation for students who would be taking some classes downtown and other classes at MCC’s campus at the corner of Marquette Avenue and Quarterline Road.

McGuigan said the downtown is well-served by the public bus system and has “parking as far as the eye can see.”

John Swanson, president of the Community Foundation’s board, said MCC, as a leader, has “duties and obligations” to make the community better. Swanson, co-owner of the Swanson Pickle Co. in Ravenna, said with the prospect of a new farmer’s market downtown, he believes Muskegon is “on the cusp of something big” – and that the college could make the downtown a “better place.”

“I think when we look back 10 years from now, we will see this as a crucial period,” Swanson said.